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Of course it hurts

In a country living way beyond its means, there is no painless way to cut

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The $1.2 trillion in looming automatic federal spending cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act
of 2011 are the canary in the coal mine, highlighting the dangers of the years-long avoidance of
taking on the tough, unpopular, but necessary work of reining in federal spending.

The “sequestration” cuts set to start next year are deep, with something for nearly everyone to
dislike. The military would take the biggest hit, with Army operations and maintenance losing close
to $7 billion and the Navy getting $4 billion slashed from its budget, among other things. Also on
the chopping block are billions of dollars to items as varied as rental assistance for the poor and
research funding for the National Institutes of Health.

The way this point was reached illustrates the foot-dragging that has only served to make the
problem worse. President Barack Obama only detailed where the cuts would be made this month,
following months of pressure from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to lay out
specifics. But Obama certainly is not the first one to drive up deficits and dodge tough decisions:
While he has taken the federal debt to new heights, his predecessor, George W. Bush, also was
guilty of massively ratcheting up deficit spending.

The Budget Control Act and its automatic spending cuts were supposed to be the hammer to induce
a congressional supercommittee to come up with a budget compromise in exchange for raising the debt
ceiling last year, but an inability to come to agreement over taxes, cuts and sacred cows made a
deal impossible. The committee, in turn, got its job because Obama failed in his capacity as the
country’s chief executive to show leadership and forge a compromise himself.

Now, the president “blasts” the looming cuts and members of Congress blame whichever party they
don’t belong to for the parts they dislike the most. But the truth is, cuts — and compromise — are
necessary. Even if taxes (or “revenue,” as skittish politicians like to call it) are raised through
higher rates or by ending tax breaks, real cuts will be necessary to create a sound fiscal
foundation. There’s just not enough extra tax money to be raised that would cover the exploding
cost of all the government’s programs and entitlements.

Tough spending cuts go against the grain of most politicians, because every cut will anger
someone. Politicians must make people happy to keep their jobs. But they also must think not just
of tomorrow’s paycheck, but of the greater good of the nation.